Spilman Talent, Engagement, Access & Mobility

At Spilman Thomas & Battle, our greatest resource is our people. We work best as a team, cultivating a professional environment where individuals from varied backgrounds can thrive. Our strength lies in our ability to harness the unique perspectives and talents of our people, forming innovative and solution-driven teams dedicated to delivering exceptional results for our clients. We are committed to fostering a strong Spilman TEAM through our efforts to recruit, retain, and invest in top talent while ensuring an inclusive workplace where all individuals – regardless of race, color, national origin, age, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or transgender status), religion, veteran status, disability, or socio-economic background – are welcomed, valued, and supported.

Spilman’s TEAM initiative is built upon four longstanding pillars of our firm culture:

Talent

Spilman is committed to hiring the very best talent at every level of our organization. We believe that exceptional legal representation starts with a team of highly skilled, dedicated professionals who bring different perspectives and experiences to the table. From attorneys and paralegals to administrative staff and business professionals, we seek individuals who share our passion for excellence, integrity, and client service. Our firm fosters a culture of continuous growth, collaboration, and innovation, ensuring that every team member has the resources and opportunities to thrive. By attracting top talent and investing in their success, we strengthen our ability to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

Engagement

Spilman strives to foster a culture that allows our firm to be more than just a place to work – one where attorneys and staff believe they are valued, supported, and empowered, ensuring they feel comfortable and secure enough to participate in important feedback loops. We know that when team members feel respected and recognized for their contributions, they collaborate more easily and more effectively, driving success for our clients.

Access

Spilman knows that talent alone does not create success. Talent needs access to opportunities. We take care to ensure equitable access to key opportunities within the firm, including internal and external meetings and discussions, meaningful client work, hands-on experience, and mentorship programs.

In addition to the structured mentoring all associates receive at Spilman, we connect associates with accomplished professionals outside the firm who share their experiences and backgrounds. It is our goal to assist our lawyers in adjusting to professional life and provide them with networking opportunities tailored to their individual circumstances.

Mobility

Spilman is committed to growing its people. We empower attorneys to explore a variety of career paths, including new roles, different or remote-based office locations, high-impact projects, and different or emerging practice areas – all while offering flexible work arrangements to accommodate diverse work styles and work/life balance.

We have implemented policies that allow attorneys to transition to part-time or independent contractor roles with proportional pay and benefits. This flexible approach benefits not only our attorneys, but also our clients, ensuring continuity in quality service. Attorneys who opt for alternative work arrangements are welcome to return to full-time or part-time roles as their career goals and personal circumstances evolve.

Additionally, Spilman has revolutionized the traditional law firm career trajectory by moving beyond the outdated “up or out” model. As part of our Associate Development Program, the firm offers all attorneys a variety of practicing roles/statuses to align their professional aspirations with their individual lifestyle needs, fostering long-term success and satisfaction.

Our commitment to developing our TEAM is further evidenced by our active participation in the following organizations.

Spilman achieved Mansfield Certification for the 2023-2024 certification year and has reaffirmed its commitment for 2024-2025. The Mansfield Rule requires participating law firms to commit to consider at least 30% historically underrepresented lawyers — women, racial and ethnic minority lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities — for a variety of leadership roles and roles that lead to membership and leadership positions. Law firms receiving Mansfield Certification demonstrate a commitment to diversity in their partnership and leadership.

We are proud to support the University of Charleston’s Enlightened Living Days, held each year to coincide with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The event celebrates the university’s mission of educating each student for a life of productive work, enlightened living and community involvement. Students take part in several activities during the day, including diversity conversations and breakout sessions on mindfulness, enrichment, diversity, race, religion, and other topics. Over the three days, the campus community will have access to panel discussions, keynote addresses, and films – rich content stressing important topics like mental health, societal privilege, justice, access to health care resources, implicit bias, and civil community engagement.

Also in partnership with the University of Charleston, Spilman sponsors and serves as mentors during the university’s i3 event, a weeks-long event wherein students develop, build a business plan for, and make a judged presentation about an idea that is capable of being launched and monetized. The category Spilman’s resources are devoted to is centered around developing important public initiatives geared toward improving social justice, access to healthcare, and/or race relations.

Spilman is a proud and long-time supporter of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, including the Women’s Leadership Summit, a celebration of the dynamic force of women’s voices, a platform where women come together to empower, inspire, and elevate each other. This event features captivating speakers, networking opportunities, leadership development sessions, mentorship programs, philanthropy projects, and more.

Furthermore, many professionals at Spilman are involved at the individual level with the following organizations in furtherance of our TEAM initiative:

• ACA International
• Academy of Arts at January’s
• Ahmanson Foundation Audit and Compensation Committees
• Allegheny County Bar Association
• Alliance for Civil Justice Reform
• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
• America 250 PA Advisory Committee
• American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
• American Association of Professional Landmen
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• American Bar Association
• American College of Bond Counsel
• American College of Healthcare Executives
• American College of Mortgage Attorneys
• American College of Real Estate Lawyers
• American Health Lawyers Association
• American Judicature Society
• American Red Cross
• Appalachian Children’s Chorus
• Belmont County Bar Association
• Beth El Congregation of the South Hills
• Blessed Sacrament Parish
• Board of Education of the County of Ohio
• Buffalo Town Cleanup
• Cabell County Bar Association
• Cabell County Public Library
• Cabell County Youth Soccer
• California Bar Association
• Chambers YMCA
• Charleston Area Alliance
• Charleston Area Tax Group
• Charleston Estate Planning Counsel
• Charleston Vandalia Rotary Club
• Church at the Depot
• City of Charleston
• Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences
• Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Roanoke
• College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
• Community Autism Resources & Education Systems (“CARES”)
• Construction Law Society of America
• Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
• CREW Pittsburgh
• Dauphin County Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute
• Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia
• Disability Rights of West Virginia
• Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Discover the Real West Virginia
• Diversity Law Institute
• East Coast Drill Instructors Association
• Eastern Mineral Law Foundation
• Energy & Mineral Law Foundation
• Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia
• Estate Planning Council of the Upper Ohio Valley
• Fairfield Community Development Corporation
• Federal Bar Association
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel
• Forsyth County Bar Association
• Fund for the Arts
• General Alumni Association of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania
• Gordon and Mildred Jackson Foundation Grant Committee
• Grand Vue Park Foundation
• Greater Winston-Salem, Inc.
• Guys in Ties
• Habitat for Humanity of the Roanoke Valley
• Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania
• Hispanic National Bar Association
• Hope Presbyterian Church
• HospiceCare
• Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Huntington United Way
• International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
• International Association of Privacy Professionals
• International Legal Technology Association
• Johnson Memorial Methodist Church Administrative Board
• Judge John A. Field, Jr. American Inn of Court
• Kanawha Coalition for Community Health Improvement
• Kanawha County Bar Association
• Kanawha Valley Football Officials Association
• Kanawha Valley Mining Association
• Kanawha-Charleston Soccer Foundation
• Keith Albee Performing Arts Center
• Larson’s National Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board
• Leadership Monongalia
• Leadership West Virginia
• Legal Aid of West Virginia
• Legal Aid Society of the Roanoke Valley
• Litigation Counsel of America
• Local Government Attorneys of Virginia
• Luzerne County Bar Association
• Marshall University Research Corporation
• Members Choice West Virginia Federal Credit Union
• Mexican American Bar Association
• Mid-Atlantic Collectors Association
• Mission West Virginia
• Monongalia County Bar Association
• Monongalia County Condemnation
• Monongalia General Hospital
• Morgantown Area Partnership
• Mountain Rifle District Advancement
• Mountwest Community and Technical College
• NAIOP
• NAMI Greater Wheeling Inc.
• National Association of Bond Lawyers
• National Association of College and University Attorneys
• National Association of Legal Assistants
• National Association of Legal Professionals
• National Association of Professional Women
• National Association of State Bar Tax Sections
• National Association of Women Lawyers
• National Creditors Bar Association
• National Creditors Bar Association
• National Workers Compensation Defense Network
• North Carolina Bar Association
• Northern Lebanon School District
• Northern Panhandle Workforce Development
• Ohio Bar Association
• Ohio County 4-H Foundation
• Ohio County Bar Association
• Ohio County Public Schools
• Ohio State Bar Association
• Ohio Valley Construction Employers Council
• Order of the Barristers
• Order of the Curia
• Pallottine Foundation of Huntington
• Parish House, Trick or Treat for Canned Goods
• Penn State Dickinson School of Law
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Law Association (PIPLA)
• Pittsburgh Public Media
• President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation
• Putnam County Bar Association
• Rivers Club
• Roanoke Bar Association
• Roanoke College Alumni Association
• Roanoke College President’s Advisory Board
• Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation
• Roanoke Valley Estate Planning Council
• Rotary Club of Charleston, WV
• Rotary Club of Wheeling
• Rotary International Member
• Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral
• Sacred Heart Grade School Fundraising Committee
• Sewickley Public Library
• Sigma Chi Bar Association
• Sleepy Hollow Country Club
• Southwestern Community Action
• Special Olympics
• St. John Greek Orthodox Church Parish Council
• St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
• St. Thomas More Catholic Lawyers Society
• Stockert Youth Center
• Ted Dalton Inn of Court
• Temple Shalom Board of Trustees
• Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association
• The Bird Dog Society
• The Dominion Post Community Advisory Board
• The George Washington University, Higher Education Leadership & Policy
• The High Technology Foundation
• The National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN)
• The Organization of Legal Professionals
• The West Virginia Law School Association
• Trial Law Institute
• Trinity Area School District PTA
• Tug Valley Mining Institute
• United Bankshares, Inc., West Virginia Board of Advisors
• United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh
• United Way of Central West Virginia
• United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties
• University of North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation
• Upper Ohio Valley Wellness Coalition
• Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
• Virginia Bar Association
• Virginia Board of Bar Examiners
• Virginia Collaborative Professionals
• Virginia Local Government Attorneys Association
• Virginia State Bar
• Virginia Supreme Court’s Access to Pro Bono Committee
• Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
• VTLA Women’s Caucus
• Wake Forest University School of Law
• Washington & Lee Law Young Alumni Council
• Washington, D.C., Bar Association
• Weirton United Way
• Wellspring Presbyterian Church
• West Liberty University Foundation Board of Directors
• West Virginia Bar Association
• West Virginia Bar Foundation
• West Virginia Chamber of Commerce
• West Virginia Chiefs of Police Association
• West Virginia Coal Association
• West Virginia Commission on Uniform State Laws
• West Virginia Election Commission
• West Virginia Hospital Association
• West Virginia Housing Institute
• West Virginia Northern Community College
• West Virginia Real Estate Lawyers Association
• West Virginia Sheriff’s Association
• West Virginia State Bar
• West Virginia State Bar Association
• West Virginia Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission
• West Virginia University Alumni Association
• West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review
• West Virginia Working Together
• Wheeling Academy of Law and Science
• Wheeling Amateur Hockey Association
• Wheeling Amateur Lacrosse Association
• Wheeling Creek Watershed Protection and Flood Control Commission
• Wheeling Heritage
• Wheeling Hospital/WVU Medicine Board of Directors
• William & Mary Law Co-Counsel Program
• Women of Elon University Roundtable
• WVU International Affairs Council
• WVU Medicine Children’s Ohio Valley Gala Committee
• WVU Visiting Committee for Diversity and Inclusion
• York County Conservation District
• Young Life
• Youth Services System

For more information about Spilman’s TEAM initiative, please contact Tai Shadrick Kluemper.